Hilarious.
I saw this and, of course, the first reaction is laughter at the brain dead dumbness of it all in the present context. It was also a reminder of how short a time it has been. So much has changed and everyone takes the web for granted, it seems. That just amazes me. I have always been an info junkie and 15 years before the web l remember thinking how great it would be to have all the worlds knowledge on an easily accessible computer system. At the time, it seemed impossible. I never expected it to happen but it did beyond belief.
When the web was being introduced the first reference I saw about it was a short news clip in Nature, the leading science journal. I showed it to the researcher l worked for and he gave the classic response, “What would that be good for.” I nearly laughed but l wasn’t smart enough to invest in it like l should of. Like when Facebook went public at $50, then dropped to 19. I saw it and watched.
Across the internet, technologists and venture capitalists, sensing fortunes to be made, are suggesting that the world is about to be completely reimagined and that the stuff of science fiction is at arm’s reach. Here’s one representative tweet:
ChatGPT reached 100M users in 2 months, and is expanding at an increasing speed.
Google Bard, if fully rolled out, will reach at least 1B users.We are witnessing 2 largest deployments of big neural nets in history. A dance of giants. Unfolding in real time.
Drawn to scale
pic.twitter.com/2wDrfLj8zL
— Jim Fan (@DrJimFan) February 7, 2023
At present, the new search tools look like a streamlining of the way we search. Those who’ve had early access to the new, AI-powered Bing have described it as a true change, saying that using it feels akin to the first time they searched something on Google. A product rollout that produces this kind of chatter doesn’t happen often. Sometimes, it signals a generational shift, like the unveiling of Windows 95 or the first iPhone. What these announcements have in common is that they don’t just reimagine a piece of technology (desktop operating systems, phones) but rather create their own gravity, reshaping culture and behaviors around their use.
The idea of generative AI as a new frontier for accessing knowledge, streamlining busywork, and assisting the creative process might exhilarate you. It should also unnerve you. If you’re cynical about technology (and you have every reason to be), it will probably terrify you.
Feeling AI vertigo doesn’t necessarily mean objecting to the change or the technology, but it does mean acknowledging that the speed feels reckless. Like all transformative technology, AI is evolving without your input. The future is being presented to you whether you consent or not.
I mentioned the new AI tools before without understanding the background. I dismissed it as a novelty. This article refutes that big time. It makes sound like we are on the edge of a transformation of tech and society we little understand. Another article said that the next big job skill will soon be how to work with AI.
Like Putin said, “Whoever controls AI controls the world*.” The Chinese, and many others, don’t doubt it and are pumping money into it big time.
They are trying real hard to get AI to program itself. Yikes.
Amen to that.
*Not a good sign from him.